Asprey, London

I am so glad Asprey got rid of those dull tree motifs carrying handbags.  This is very much appreciated guys.  Thank you.

Before:

After:

Hermes, London

Someone had a good Saturday night.  Come on Hermes, sort your mannequins out.

Visual Merchandising Awards 2010

Is there a way of unravelling toes that are so tightly curled inside expensive shoes?  A whole weekend and I am still unable to unclench my buttocks too (perhaps a little too much information for you) although after an 'interesting'  evening celebrating the best in the Visual Merchandising industry here in London on Friday (mercifully I was with good immediate company) however, I still am rather traumatised from the experience.  

It seemed to be a kind of sinister, B movie, employee of the month celebration rather than a prestigious award ceremony. Not that I frequent places such as fast food restaurants, but on the very few occasions that I have - for research obviously -  have you ever noticed those rows of photographs of staff usually framed and placed close to the counter?  Employee of the month, or, in other words,  how to simultaneously be a "winner and a loser".  Sadly any prestige attached to these awards has long gone and possibly to the embarrassment of the recipients. 

 

The Australian Drag Queen Vida Las Vegas (no I hadn't heard of him either) hosted the event this year.  While I'm not adverse to coarse humour in the slightest, I like it to at least be amusing.  With such dreadfully unfunny material (actually no material that could be even microscopically identified) it would seem that the only thing amusing about this act was actually how dreadful it all was - and even that wasn't very amusing.  Parading to the UK's visual finest in a painfully cheap velour frock does not a talent make, although of course its nothing slow suffocation wouldn't have cured.  The publicly humiliating walkabout - as a last resort pick-on-the-audience-strategy - completely lost us as if we hadn't already been.  Thankfully we were spared any miming to CeCe Peniston hits or 'Its raining men' - hallelujah, really.  

With intermittent stints from Hot Gussets vaguely amusing routines writhing in faux leopard and glitter, was cringe worthy at best.  I'm not particularly  au fait with celebrating the untalented, in a room full of so many genuinely talented people,  in fact I find it quite insulting, significantly less than entertaining and incredibly sad that in contemporary society that we feel the need to parade our talentless in front of the talented and are expected to find it all so amusing.

While I am of course pleased to see industry colleagues, peers and so on be recognised for their hard work and so they should be, however with information provided for the event that informed us "we had the greatest number of entries ever for this years event and making the final is a great achievement" was soon shattered when it became as ever apparent that the winners were virtually the same as.......well, just about every other year. With supplier sponsored awards it appeared, at least to me, that this was more about securing and maintaining commercial contracts than celebrating the best from industry.  Of course this may not be the case (yeah right) but it is at least how it appears from the outside looking in and originates from the lack of transparency (just like employee of the month scenarios) in how these outcomes are actually decided.

Are we not worth more than this?  Yes we are.  A lot of you in the UK VM industry think it, because an awful lot of you say it to me, but it seems no one else is prepared to say this publicly.  However, it would be helpful to have a fairer system of voting for our UK visual best and some transparency in the process in deciding winners to enable those unsung hero's who perhaps are on the periphery of this industry as well as those who are not and yet never receive industry recognition, however, all make such a significant contribution. This may finally make this occasion something worth celebrating, meaningful, and we can as an industry finally be on the path to being recognised as an integral part of the visual industry that we are rather than surplus to requirements when times get tough.     

In the meantime, who needs surveys, questionnaires or to reflect on the event when the so dreadfully unentertaining say it all about the (w)hole experience in just one image..........?

Mango, London

Mango clearly have their fingers on the pulse of whats happening 'out there' or at least what will be happening.  There seems to be the beginning of a Copper trend with Copper accessories cropping up around town throughout certain schemes.  The Uber cool crowd have clearly picked this up as a future trend of 2012 while the laggards will be picking this stuff up from Primark and M&S sometime around mid 2013.  Interestingly this installation does remind me a little of some of the images I have in my archives, possibly reminiscent of the 'Golden Hands' magazines from the 1970's or one of those knitting patterns with models in stilted poses wearing the most awful knitwear.  But anyway,  a cool scheme from these guys and a pleasure to share it with you all. 

Nicole Farhi, London

I've been following this store's schemes for over a year  now and they never fail to surprise me.  The creative team here have been leading the way over the past year with their use of various artists and designers to work with their vision and create some very cutting edge schemes.  The latest scheme launched recently is based on the work of the French artist Bernar Venet.  "Venet's work explores many media, materials and forms of expression". "From the early sixties, Venet's use of industrial drawings and mathematical diagrams in painting has been a major contribution to Conceptual Art". "Venet has lived in New York for many years, and practices as an artist around the world."

"For Venet, being an artist means not only painting or sculpting, but also to speculate--in art, science, philosophy, mathematics, geometry, and music". "He is an internationally recognized painter, sculptor, and composer of concrete music (technologically manipulated sound), and his main interest in art is to raise questions, to push his work further and further, and to search for new approaches."

What is so refreshing about the schemes at Nicole Farhi is being able to understand their intentions and how in turn this is communicated to us.  Often we as customers are presented with such meaningless 'stuff' that is sometimes overwhelming although more often than not, (with reference to the multiple brands) quite underwhelming, however the creative team here seems to get it all just so right.

Anna Glasbrook, Architectural Textile Designer

Images Courtesy and Copyright Anna Glasbrook.

I do love to find new people to show you all and just by chance while rushing around the shows recently I happened upon Anna Glasbrook's incredible work.  With so much resin being showcased recently I was immediately drawn to Glasbrook's work as the perfect alternative - in fact I actually screeched to a halt.  As my mind races at 100 miles per hour on a daily basis, I couldn't help but think how her work could be used within either a domestic or commercial environment.  "Anna Glasbrook creates striking contemporary textile pieces for domestic, corporate and public spaces".  "Using the effects of layering, transparency and the travelling line, she creates textiles that vibrate with vivid colour and movement enticing viewers to stop and look closer." (which I did)  "Anna's photographs of the rural and urban landscape are the fundamental starting point of her design process, and a technique for exploring proportion of colour and line". "The contours, textures and colours from the images are translated with free and fluid mark-making, into individual works". "The innovative use of three-dimensional stitch creates a changing perspective as the work is viewed from different angles". 

If you don't know Anna Glasbrook's work then you must check out her site at www.annaglasbrook.com   and see what she can do for you.  With the current installations at Levis along Regent St. here in London, Nicole Farhi leading the way throughout 2010 with their use of Artists Esther Coombs and Benedetta Mori-Ubaldini producing the most magical installations, Topshop with Japanese artist Houxo Que then how can you not?  Working with these amazing people not only supports independent Artists and Designers, but it also creates a fantastically exciting and innovative environment for your customers too - and this is what we want.  And lets face it, if you're not going to do it, your competitors will.  If I were you I would have this woman on speed dial.   In the meantime Anna can be contacted at anna@glasbrook.com

Oasis, London

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this brand any more.  They have gone through a few transformations, albeit quite minor, although, for me at least, they seem to have lost their direction a little?  The concepts behind the schemes are interesting, although perhaps the budgets are so low right now that, in the case of this brand, every expense has been spared?  With the repetition of these out sized magnifying glasses, the likes of which were seen at Tiffany (only actual size) earlier this year and I have seen a few cropping up in several other schemes throughout 2010 including Fortnum and Mason.  It seemed to be a trend that didn't really go any where, unlike the use of Chandeliers of course, from just about every high street brand throughout 2009.  The mannequins with their Matt White finish work well and of course they have been placed in the usual pyramidal format / dynamic, but for me the scheme lacks the energy we have previously seen from this brand?  Perhaps it is the lack of humour that's missing?  I can see the humour and fun is screaming to get out but with magnifying glasses that barely magnify anything, a great opportunity to play with them, magnifying all sorts of cheeky 'bits' just didn't happen? 

Browns, London

We have recently seen the growing trend of the use of clocks in store windows recently, both at Fred Perry and at Browns along Sloane St. here in London.  This is actually a very simple scheme using clocks and alarm bells in a repetition format on a Grey backdrop or technically speaking as repetition of radiating forms, These kind of schemes prove, I suppose, that even small independent retailers can look to these kind of stores in order to be inspired to produce quite effective schemes with minimal financial output.  The semi-abstract figures used here have been sprayed with a Gold finish.  The clocks, naturally represent time and the "continuum in which events occur in succession....used to sequence events to quantify the durations of the events and the intervals between them".  With this in mind, perhaps this scheme rather lacks any sense of depth or meaning which, from a 'Designer' brand position was maybe a missed opportunity?  As it is, we have repetition of these man made forms, although wouldn't it have been rather more interesting if this concept had unravelled some thought, theory, ideology and communicated this through this concept in order to produce a scheme with a deeper level of meaning and which brands such as these can afford the luxury of doing?  As it is, its just clocks and alarm bells repeated, so hardly revolutionary, although it is of course, actually quite effective and works very well anyway.

Zara, London

If you don't have access to the cash to purchase the likes of Armani, Kerin Rose, Formichetti or Haus of Gaga, then why not make your own?  If you happened to pass Zara on the corner of Bond st. recently you would have seen this incredibly fun scheme from the creative team there.  Steampunk inspired glasses (incidentally these can be bought at the Goth shop online) with the ever versatile Jammy Dodgers, biscuit necklaces, mounds of popcorn, old coach seats and inverted comma styled mannequin wigs help to create this wonderful scene.  The team here are clearly gaga over Gaga in their presentation that one hardly notices the merchandise which itself has been deftly styled to look even better than it is - job well done then.  If only Zara were like this the world over what a wonderfully visually fun place the world would be. 

New Collection, Jersey Girl at Panache

I found myself drooling again the other day.  While viewing the new collection at Panache Display which is so wonderfully fresh, exciting, elegant and quite frankly incredibly sexy, I just couldn't help myself.  The new abstract / stylised figures just launched form Jersey Girl from this prolific company have been presented in this pure White Matt finish.  With a variety 4 forms offering an incredible 16 poses to choose from, any fashion retailer out there must go and take a look.  From high fashion to high street, these female figures with their beautifully elongated figures (a delicious size 8), swan-like necks and molded hands are absolutely stunning and are a must for any one who wants to be ahead in this commercial industry.  The beautiful bust forms have been presented in gorgeous fabrics, although with any part of this collection the client can have whatever they choose and even have exquisitely made articulated arms too, to enable you to create that wonderful sense of movement within your presentation.  As per usual, the only limitation is our own imagination.  I was also struck by the leg forms for shoes and hosiery.  I have seen these in some of the cooler retailers and I promise you, if you own a shoe/hosiery, brand/department somewhere out there, then these little guys are well within your price range.  Excellent value, an excellent collection, how can you ever present your product with anything else?  With the new trends already announced for 2012, you will already know your finishes, your textures and so on.  So get in contact with these guys (and they are so incredibly nice too) and get shopping for your new collection.  Don't forget to watch this space for the pending launch of Jersey Boy launching soon in 2011.  In the meantime get those orders in for this must have collection by contacting  jo@panachedisplay.co.uk     

Window Display: New Visual Merchandising

If you haven't seen the new book from Tony Morgan launched recently, then you must go and get yourself a copy.  This latest publication is full of the most beautiful concepts by contemporary Visual Merchandisers work from around the globe including London, Paris, Belgium, Hong Kong and New York.  This is a real gem of exquisitely photographed windows presented under the key areas of Seasons, Lighting and Technology, Theatre, Trends and so on.  Taking us on a personal journey through the context of how these come in to being from his years of experience, Tony Morgan also offers us an explanation in each of the chapters in order for us to begin to understand what we as the viewers are actually viewing and why certain Visual Merchandising elements are produced the way that they are.  "Stores must deliver their merchandise in a competitive imaginative and distinctive way".  "The challenge is not only to attract customers' attention and encourage them to shop, but to promote a store's brand and keep shoppers informed of fashion trends". "An exhibition of the most exciting and original window displays worldwide, Window Display offers guidance to visual merchandisers and retailers who need to create eye-catching window designs that will help increase sales."

At just £22.50 this is a must have book for your collection.

Karolina Kling Pop-up book Installation

Wow, if you didn't see this pop-up by Kling by Kling, you missed an incredible treat.  I have only just found Karolina Kling's work and I am in awe - this is one of the reasons I stay here in London.  This interactive installation in East London, a pop-up book that you can turn the pages of from a digital pad on the outside of this window is both extraordinary and a real crowd puller - I had wait an hour to get these shots.  "KLING by KLING is a label created by London based Swede Karolina Kling. Since establishing the brand in 2006 the label has acclaimed international attention for its distinct prints and playful designs and has been described as Viktor & Rolf on acid. For the last two years she has reached a growing audience with her fourth collection, distributing worldwide".  If you do nothing else this week check out her site, its dark, its fascinating and I feel sure that you too will be gripped.

Nike, London

I rarely look at Nike here in London.  Its not that these guys don't do anything interesting although I just think its one of those stores that I seem to inadvertently pass by on my way to somewhere else.  However, although this scheme is nearly on its way out, I did think that it was worth recording and showing to you as the use of these light boxes and the narrative it contains was quite worthy.  Anyway, these guys are up for an award next week within the Visual Merchandising industry here in the UK.  As most of the big glamorous retailers nearly always get the awards (and in so many cases justifiably so), I also feel that it was about time that the unknown guys (at least to me) here at Nike got some recognition and encouragement too.  The team here got one of my votes, so fingers crossed and good luck guys.